Sin and Life

Romans 5:12-21

¹²Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

¹³for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.

¹⁴Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

¹⁵But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

¹⁶And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

¹⁷For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

¹⁸Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

¹⁹For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

²⁰Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

²¹so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When I was going through confirmation instruction, it was confounding to me how the sin of Adam was my problem. I questioned pastor about that with confidence that he was wrong and I was in no way a part of that mess. Being the good theologian he is I was assured over and over that Adam sin was indeed a problem for me that had to addressed on the cross of Jesus Christ. (Thank you, Pastor Charles Reimnitz – your teaching still sticks with me today and it happened decades ago!) I would say it is safe to say we were probably reading this very passage at the time of that conversation.

Paul’s doctrinal instruction moves forward as he shares our plight because of the sin of Adam. “. . . through one man” refers directly to Adam. His sin marks us all and introduced death into God’s perfect creation. The Father had promised Adam and Eve that if they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would die. And that is exactly what happened. They may not have died instantly, but they did die as is evidenced by the fact that they are not here today to tell us the story of their time in the Garden of Eden. God promised that disobedience would bring death and it did.

On the flip side of that coin God also promised that just as one man brought sin and death in the world, so too “one Man” would bring life into the world. When seen as a big picture it’s not hard to grasp. Adam brought death, Jesus brings life. The simplicity of it all is pretty compelling. As a student in confirmation class I found it difficult to take the blame for something I didn’t do. And in this case, it’s not just blame. I have to suffer the punishment for Adam’s massive blunder. But – I am also incredibly grateful that I also get to receive the grace that comes with one Man’s sacrifice. Adam left a mark on humanity but so did Jesus. And the redemption that Jesus brought lasts into eternity. The mark of Adam will pass away completely when Jesus returns.